North Carolina Day Care Centers / Child Care Centers – What Standards Apply as to Accident, Incident, and Injury Reports?

When a child is injured in a North Carolina day care center / child care center, parents have a right to be informed as to the details and circumstances of the incident, accident, and injury. It is stressful enough for the parents to have to deal with the trauma, pain, suffering, confusion, and fear from a child being injured. It is even more stressful when parents are “kept in the dark” as to the details of the incident. How did the incident happen? Who was around when the incident took place? What caregiver was in charge? What kind of supervision was in place? Did the injury result from inattention or negligence? Was another child involved? Was the injury or incident preventable? These questions along with many others come to a parent’s mind when a child is injured. North Carolina child care centers / day care centers are regulated by the North Carolina Administrative Code Title 10 A – Health and Human Services – Chapter 9 – Day Care Rules. Under Section 802 – Emergency Medical Care, a facility has a duty to provide a parent with an incident report when a child receives medical treatment by a physician, nurse, or other medical providers as a result of an incident or accident at a child care center. The incident report should be prepared by the facility and then signed by the parent. Thereafter, the child care center is required to send a copy of the incident report to the Division of Child Development, Department of Health and Human Services.